With good asthma management, people with asthma can breathe freely. But sometimes it might feel like your doctor is speaking a different language when it comes to your asthma control. 

Asthma Control is how your healthcare team measures how often you’re experiencing asthma symptoms or how much your symptoms have been reduced by treatment. By doing an asthma control test, you and your doctor can get on the same page about your asthma. The questions help update the doctor about how often you or your child are having symptoms and needing to use your reliever inhaler. If your score shows that your asthma isn’t well controlled, your doctor will know that they need to adjust your treatment or give you extra support in managing your asthma. 

When asthma is well controlled, you’ll experience little to no symptoms and rarely need your reliever inhaler. If your asthma is not well controlled, your doctor will use this information to check your asthma management and make sure you are on the best treatment possible for you. 

For adults and adolescents, we use a test called the Asthma Control Questionnaire, and for children aged 4-11, we use the Childhood Asthma Control Test. These tests are used by doctors all over the world and have been scientifically tested by hundreds of people with asthma. If your child is under 12, you will need to complete part of the test with them.

Select Your Test

How Often Should You Test Your Asthma Control?

Monitoring asthma control regularly can help you track your progress over time and recognise patterns. You don’t have to wait until you are sick to check your asthma control. 

You might find it useful to complete monthly, or before each doctor’s appointment. It takes about five minutes. 

Note: The children’s version of the test asks about symptoms over the past four weeks, while the adult and adolescent version looks at the previous week only. Keep this in mind if you are completing a questionnaire for both yourself and your child.

How Will I Get My Score?

When you complete your test online, you will be prompted to provide some basic details. This is so we can send you a copy of your responses, your results and recommended next steps. 

If you have questions about what your score means, Book a FREE consult with an Asthma Educator at a time that works for you or call us direct on 1800ASTHMA (1800 278 462).

Validation and Terms of Use

Validation of the Childhood Asthma Control Test

The Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT) is a validated tool for assessing asthma control in children aged 4–11 years. It consists of seven items: three for the parent/carer (about the child’s symptoms over the previous four weeks) and four for the child. A lower score indicates worse asthma control. The C-ACT has been shown to be effective in identifying both controlled and uncontrolled asthma.

The author and copyright holder is GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development Limited (GSK). Asthma Australia has been granted the licence to use the test as part of our support for children and their families with their asthma.

Validation of the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ5)

The Asthma Control Questionnaire has been validated by Clinical Trial for adults and is undergoing further testing for all children 7-17 years.  It is a recognised clinical asthma symptom measurement tool within the Australian Asthma Handbook Guidelines, 2022 and internationally.

The tool itself has been developed by ACQ© 2002 QOL TECHNOLOGIES Ltd, and Asthma Australia as the peak body for people with asthma have the license to administer the questionnaire and support people in their asthma journey, together with their treating health professionals.

Asthma Scoring Tools are not intended to be used by members of the public in place of health professional advice. 

For more information, you can contact us on 1800 ASTHMA (1800 278 462).